The Chie chronicles

Part three: Lost

Void.

Mitsuo couldn't remember ever having felt so empty. He had felt sorrow when his mother died, but his father had been at his side. He had grieved for his father's illness and death, but Shiori's love helped him through it. But now… even the memory of burying his wife's remains was vague. It was as if some gray fog clouded his mind, numbing each and every emotion. All that was left was a dull pain in the back of his mind.

He still could not fathom what had happened. How were they found out? No bloodline hunters had been sighted on the island for years. And why now? Why did they strike when he was not at home? Why did Shiori have to die? Why wasn't he there to protect her?

Mitsuo looked up, but even with the wind blowing in his face, no tears could come. He hated himself for it. Why couldn't he even cry? He wanted to rip his own eyes out… he wanted to die. What was the point of living on without his family? Anger, sadness, despair- all the emotions struggled inside him to come forth. But they all lost to that gray void that filled him.

He sighed. Family. The attacker had taken Suzume away. Mitsuo did not understand why. Hunters were known to kill even babies, as they slaughtered everything that even reeked of a kekkei genkai. Even relatives that had never manifested the ability were murdered, just to be sure. So why had that man taken his daughter? Suzume was now the only reason he still lived. Chie had more or less dragged him on, urging him to follow the kidnapper. He didn't know how the cat knew where to go. And frankly, he couldn't care either. Setting out on the seas with their little fishing boat was more or less suicide anyway. Mitsuo had learned sailing from his father at an early age. The paranoia had driven his father to educate Mitsuo in each and every aspect of survival. Somewhat wearily, Mitsuo remembered his father's lessons. The most urgent one at this moment was that crossing the seas in a small fishing boat like this required the sailor to be completely focused.

But Mitsuo knew he was everything but focused.

Chie looked back at the grieving man. She herself had barely recovered from the injuries she had sustained. Even though the attacker had not aimed to kill her, the sheer force of his blow had caused several internal injuries.

It was a good thing that Tomio had taught her the basics of using chakra to heal herself. The only thing she regretted was that she had so little chakra. But that had both been her curse and her blessing. Her small physique had always meant she was weaker than her siblings, but it had also compelled her to learn everything she could. While her brothers and sisters had fooled around in the woods, Chie had read many of the scrolls her grandfather had kept, as well as many of the scrolls that Tomio had lent to her.

At an early age, Chie had understood that she could overcome her physical limitations by outsmarting her opponents. Now, one of the many things she had learned could be put into practice. If she had not marked Suzume with her paw, she and Mitsuo would have never stood a chance of tracking the child down. At least now they knew which direction to go, provided that they hurried, she fretted to herself.

Chie was quite aware that her sensory abilities were far beyond what was considered normal for most of her clan, even at young age. Her small reserves had at least made it easy to gain perfect control over her chakra. However, the range of her sensory abilities would still have some limitations. The kidnapper already had a head start, so any delays now would mean the child would be lost forever.

Because, in this large world, how would someone retrieve a kidnapped child?

"Oi, two-leg," Chie woke her companion. In the four days on sea, Mitsuo had barely slept, and eaten next to nothing. She had watched the man gradually lose his fight to stay awake. It was not a big problem, because miraculously, they never had to face any storm or bad weather. Eventually the shores in the distance had become noticeable, spurring Chie to sharply call "Mitsuo!"

"What," the man grumbled weakly. Chie frowned a little when she remembered the smiling and happy man she had once known. His face radiated the weariness he felt, and his eyes… Chie shuddered when she saw the empty look in the man's eyes.

"There's land in the distance."

"Is Suzume there?"

"She is in that direction, yes."

Mitsuo sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I might be young, and considered weak compared to my siblings, but I do know a thing or two about tracking." When the man remained silent, she sighed. "I marked your kitten with my paw. It is a mark that is untraceable by anyone other than me. You and Shiori," she saw the man grimace a little, "asked me to keep an eye on Suzume, so I thought that marking her made the most sense."

"How long until the seal vanished?"

"Seal?" Chie blinked. "I marked her. I do not know if it is a seal or not. A Bakeneko can mark one target. It is usually done when they have a partner," Chie confessed, a little embarrassed that she did something that was considered that intimate for her kind to the child. "When we touch the person we want to mark, we… well, the easiest way to explain it is that it connects the chakras of two creatures. Though, it is true that the signal which the one chakra gives to the other weakens over the years, at least with a continuous separation between the two, yes."

"Chakra? But Suzume…"

"Your kitten barely had any, yes, but the mark doesn't really require anything from the target," Chie explained. "Every living thing has some chakra inside it, even if the creature cannot use it. It a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, remember? But still, we need to hurry or your kitten will be out of range. If that man takes her too far away…"

"Right. I understand now," Mitsuo sighed, although his posture for the first time showed a little energy. Chie had been concerned that finding his mate's body would have broken him, but apparently there was still a bit of the old Mitsuo there.

Kenta looked up and sighed. 'Can't even get a damned rest in this rotten place,' he grumbled inwardly. After staying at sea for a few days, he had finally reached the shores of the mainland, the land of Hot Water, if he had the geography correct. Then after having travelled for a full day, he had seen a nice place to set up camp and to take a long overdue nap. However, he now saw over a dozen filthy-looking bandits had surrounded his position, led by one with an impressive physique. The leader and his followers were equally dirty, no, not just dirty, as the men had all painted their faces and bodies black, Kenta observed.

It was not such that it bothered Kenta much. From one quick look, Kenta could see that only their leader had a little control over his chakra, while his cronies were little more than cannon fodder for a shinobi like him. Still, while casually looking at the painted men, Kenta wondered why the leader had his brown hair so well groomed. His hair was obviously long, but tied into a complex knot that fell to the side of his head. It was not the kind of haircut Kenta had ever seen before. It boggled Kenta when he noticed that the men had painted their whole bodies, yet not their hair. Suppressing a yawn, Kenta stood up. 'These are not the first weirdos to try and attack me…maybe I shouldn't keep my chakra suppressed all the time.'

"Who are you shitheads, and why the fuck did you wake me up?" Kenta demanded, looking at the tall leader of the little bandit group. 'Damn, I'm not that tiny, but this guy even towers above me… I feel like a goddamn dwarf' Kenta grumbled, as he saw that the man was at least seven foot tall.

"Awww… I saw that pretty, long, black hair of yours and I thought I could finally have some fun with a woman again," the man smirked, showing Kenta a set of dirty yellow teeth. Obviously the man cared more about his hair than about his teeth. 'Ah well, some say pigs are hygienic too…'

Casually, Kenta stretched himself. He had seen enough. 'Apart from their leader, these goons had little to no access to chakra, and even that leader's ability seems shaky at best. No need to worry. Hardly even a reason to wake up.' Still, these guys had disturbed his sleep, Kenta thought. It was enough to piss off Kenta, especially taking his previous lack of sleep into account. However, Kenta had to admit to himself that their overconfidence amused him.

"I don't give a damn," Kenta grunted. "Get lost or I'll kill you morons. And you'd better throw your pissing insults somewhere else, or I'll cut that tongue out of your filthy mouth."

The leader barked a laugh, which was quickly followed by those of his men. "You got some guts there, little boy," the man nodded, as if he seriously appreciated it. "I might even offer to let you join my tribe."

"Why on earth would I do that," Kenta frowned. 'Is this guy really this clueless? What a fucking moron.'

"The Swartas Skelthús are the first tribe to go south in over a century," the leader boasted. "It is a testament of our strength. No foot soldier ever stood a chance against our might. Even those puny shinobi fell to our blades."

This time it was Kenta's turn to chuckle. "You must never have met any real shinobi then… Ever seen a jonin in combat? No, you can't have, or you and your bunch of weaklings would all have perished long ago. Hell, even a decent group of fresh genin should be able to drop a bunch of losers like you," he smirked.

Agitated, one of the men close to Kenta moved forward. Though not for long, as Kenta's short sword pierced the man's throat. In a sudden cloud of mist, the jonin completely vanished from the bandits' sight. "I told you to piss off," Kenta whispered, appearing behind the 'leader'. Well, not that he led any men at this point, as his dozen of followers had become a dozen of corpses. "But I guess I have to change my mind.. Take me to your camp. You and your men will follow me, I'm sure my master would like some extra muscle."

The bandit leader started to sweat a bit. He had seen nothing: in one moment the black- haired man had vanished without a sight or sound, by the next moment his men had fallen and he had felt a blade in his side. Instantly. Although he didn't like it, he knew when he was beaten. "Fine then… I accept defeat, and you will be my chieftain," the man grunted.

"You can swear your loyalty to my master, not to me," Kenta said as he pulled back his blade. "Now, we should hurry up. I got to bring that brat to my master. What do I call you?"

"My name is Immore, chieftain of the Swartas Skelthús," the man replied. "You defeated me, so by right, you are my leader."

"Ah, just shut up, you moron," Kenta grumbled. "Immore? Odd name. You said you came from the north?"

"Yes. There is a shortage of food on the land I came from, so I led the warriors of my tribe down to your lands," he (partially) lied. Kenta saw that the man had tried to lie, but didn't really feel bothered. He guessed that the giant was too proud to admit the true reason. They did look more like criminals than soldiers anyway, so they were probably driven out and this ass-wipe attempted to make it look a little more heroic.

"And this Swartas Skelthús stuff has a meaning as well? I don't get it, what kind of fucked up language is this?"

Immore grimaced for a moment. "It is because we paint our bodies before combat," he explained. "We are the warriors of the night, or literally the 'black shield' of our people."

"Tsk. Then they're screwed if they have a bunch of fucks like you to protect them. Fine then," Kenta grunted. "Fetch your men and come back here. I'll pack my things. Don't try to trick me, because I can already sense them close by, all twenty-seven of them. So, unless you want them to end up just like these fools over here…"

"Aye."

Confounded and pissed off, Immore walked back to his tribe. He was proud, but not foolish enough to ignore the fact that the puny black-hair could murder the lot of them in seconds if he so wished to. 'Damn you, you filthy little rat. Nobody humiliates me like this. I'll get you for this, even if it is the last thing I do!'

After four days of running, taking as little rest as he could spare, Mitsuo could not remember ever being so tired. Four days ago, he and Chie had set foot on land, and chased Suzume's fading mark. For the last day, Mitsuo had even carried Chie, so that the feline could conserve all her energy for tracking the mark she had placed on the child; but they were not fast enough.

Chie eventually sighed. "I'm sorry… I can barely sense her anymore- that man is just too fast."

Feeling defeated, Mitsuo bashed the back of his head against the tree that he had slumped down against. For the first time since he had found his wife's corpse, Mitsuo cried. Silently, the tears flowed down his cheeks. His shoulders shocked. His throat burned.

'I lost Shiori.. And now I have lost Suzume too? Why, Kami? Why? What did I do to deserve this fate?'

As little while later, Chie returned. Mitsuo had carried her, so she had gone out to hunt down some food. She saw his desperate expression, and sighed.

"Two-leg… there is one method- only one method that I know of to forcibly increase my chakra," Chie hesitated. "But it comes at a cost…"

Mitsuo's head jerked up, his red and teary eyes absently pointed at the cat. "How? Anything… I'll do anything for my daughter." Chie remained silent. After little while, Mitsuo importuned, "Tell me, Chie, please. If there is any chance of getting my daughter back, I'll take it. I don't care if it costs me my life!"

"It won't kill you, two-leg," Chie sighed, having made up her mind. "But there are several… complications."

"What do you mean?"

"The only way I know of to increase my reserves, and thereby to increase the range at which I can sense the chibi-two-leg, is to form a contract between us."

"A contract?" Mitsuo blinked a few times.

"Yes, or did you forget that my species is a summoning tribe? Forming contracts with you two-legs is what my tribe usually does, though normally only when we're a lot older. By clan law, I should be at least a century old before they would teach me how to form my own contracts. So… that's one of the things that would make this proposition dangerous."

"Because you don't know how?" Mitsuo frowned.

"I know the basics," Chie shrugged. "Otherwise I wouldn't even have mentioned it. Why would I waste our time with false hope? It's just that if I form a contract outside the laws of my clan, I truly become an outcast. A criminal, so to speak."

"You would break your clan's laws for me?"

Chie looked up at the surprised man. "Why not?" she said simply. "The only one who truly cared about me died when I was swept away from the island. Any ties in blood that I still have are… well, I honestly doubt they would even miss me. I always was the failure anyway," Chie said with a hint of bitterness in her voice that surprised Mitsuo. The cat never spoke much of her home. "I was always too small. Too weak. Too curious. Too bothersome. No… you, Shiori, and Suzume are my clan now. My family. If saving Suzume means that I have to become a criminal in the eyes of my old family, then so be it."

"Are you sure about this? Family… I'm sure that they care about you, Chie."

Chie laughed, a short laugh that virtually dripped of the sarcasm it was filled with. "The months that I spent with you and your family only made their lack of love for me even more obvious. No, I have made up my mind. I'm sure I'll come to regret it, especially considering the short life-span you two-legs have compared to me, but I think it is worth it."

"I… thank you," Mitsuo bowed his head, touched that the feline would go that far for him and Suzume.

"Hmm. You don't need to. You never wanted to accept my thanks either," Chie retorted with some of her cheeky attitude returning to her voice. "But first I'll give you a short crash course on what my tribe can do. We don't have much time, so pay attention." Mitsuo nodded and sat down again. "First of all, the primary skill my species possesses is our ability to shape shift."

"Like the henge no jutsu?"

"No, it isn't a cheap illusion or anything, our transformation is real. That means it also requires a lot of chakra to perform, even though the upkeep isn't that high because it is far more efficient on my chakra reserves. If we would form a contract, I could draw onto your chakra reserves, and thus I would be able to transform into a much stronger form." Mitsuo nodded, understanding the principle. "And like I said, if my reserves increase, I would also be able to expand the range at which I could sense my mark on Suzume. However," Chie's whiskers moved in a way that Mitsuo had come to recognize as a sign of annoyance, "there is also a downside."

"What do you mean? It all sounds pretty useful."

"True, but me drawing from your chakra means that I have to adjust to it and it takes some time before my own reserves will expand. Like I said, I am too young to normally sign contracts… my limited reserves will mean that my body will require some time to adjust. From what I read, I anticipate that it will be a bit painful. Overloading my reserves is something that should cripple me for a while. I don't know exactly how long though... none of the scrolls ever told me anything on it, other than that it was forbidden to form contract when we were too young."

"But... if you use my chakra like that, would that mean that my chakra-"

"No," Chie cut him off. "I will draw some chakra from you, yes, but it is nothing you can't recover from. You two-legs have bigger bodies and bigger reserves than I have. For me, however, it means that my body will be overloaded, and according to the terms of the contract it will forcibly expand my reserves. It will cause some pain, but a little pain is not the issue. The real issue is that it will destabilize my chakra control, and as such it will also affect your chakra control, the very moment we activate the contract."

"I see…"

"Do you? You do realize that the man who took Suzume away is an excellent sensor, if he was able to pick up the chibi's chakra? Even I barely ever sensed her, and I was close," Chie emphasized. "That trait makes it probable that he will sense us the moment our chakras bond. Because, at that moment, neither of us will be able to properly hide our signals."

"Then we have to move fast."

Chie nodded, but doubted that the man, in all his desperation, understood that they were outclassed by the black-haired man that had stolen Suzume. Not to mention that the man probably moved at a speed that was casual for him, while they were moving as fast as they could and still lagged behind. Then again, the mark was nearly out of range now, so it wasn't as if they had much chance. 'Perhaps the man will not sense us, after all he shouldn't be expecting us to follow. And if he does sense us, there is always a chance that he would try to ambush us, but I doubt he would be able to hide from me… and if my combat abilities increase as much as the scrolls suggested, then we might be able to take him on, or at least manage to take Suzume away from him,' Chie mused. 'Mitsuo will know this too. He has been on the run for most part of his life, so he will probably understand it even better than I do… well, not considering how he is still grieving for his mate.'

Chie sighed. No matter how she thought about it, they had no other choice. Not for the first time since the chase started, Chie wished that Tomio was still at her side. He would've known what to do. He would have been able to stop the man when he took Suzume away.

"Alright, put out your paw, two-leg, and place it against mine..."

Looking at the seemingly motley crew in front of him, Kenta couldn't help but laugh. He dropped the child that he carried over, she was tied anyway, and found himself mildly amused when he saw that she cowered away behind him, terrified by the painted men and their atrocious clothing. Apparently in the eyes of the child, these savages were even worse than he was, and for a kid so small she certainly seemed to hate him with a passion. But in front of these fools, Kenta could do nothing but laugh. "And you guys wanted to face shinobi?" he panted, catching his breath. "Heh that's by far the best joke I heard in months. Absolutely fucking priceless. Any decent jonin would rape your asses in a matter of seconds."

Immore gritted his teeth while the black-haired man continued his laughter. "This is my tribe."

"Hmm. Well, we'll see how useful they are," Kenta chuckled. 'Damn, that was a good one. Even that red-hair didn't give me as much fun as these idiots, I might just keep them around to see what kind of stupidity they might pull next…'

Besides, the few things he heard about (and from) the Snake Sannin gave Kenta the idea that the man wouldn't mind a few bodies more to experiment on. The giant that led them would likely make an especially nice addition, Kenta conceded. He estimated that with his physical ability, the giant should be able to grow into a decent warrior once he properly learned how to use his chakra.

Kenta wasn't going to take any risks; he would first give the group a set of coordinates of a place near the hideout where he was supposed to meet Orochimaru. As he explained this to Immore and his men, Kenta suddenly felt a spike of chakra.

'Now what was that?' Kenta thought, narrowing his eyes. 'Two signals, one small, one a bit larger, perhaps chunin level… quite distant even. Hmm. And now they move in our direction again. And the small signal feels familiar.' Kenta frowned a moment. 'I know! It's that talking cat that I met when I picked up the brat. Perhaps the other signal is the brat's father. She did keep whining about her daddy the whole freaking day- well, until I gagged her fucking mouth. Damn brat. Hmm…on the other hand, if those morons managed to track me, then either he or the cat is a pretty damn good sensor. Not to manage that they came this far without me noticing them… I might not want to underestimate them too much. Then again, they don't know about these painted idiots.' He cocked his head a bit, and concentrated.

Kenta grinned. "Change of plan," he shouted. 'Do I only get to meet idiots today? Why would they travel at that pace when they are already exhausted? Doubt they'll even be able to cast a jutsu or two. Fucking numbskulls.'

"Shit… he must've sensed us," Chie suddenly cursed. Mitsuo carried the now exhausted feline. True to her world, they had formed a simple contract, one that enabled her to drain as much of his chakra as she deemed wise, all for the goal of helping him retrieve Suzume.

"Where is he going?" Mitsuo panted. The amount of chakra she had drawn from him, combined with his already exhausted state due to running for several days, made it extremely hard for him to keep going. If not for Suzume being in danger, Mitsuo doubted he would even have had the strength to take another step.

"Same direction, but it seems he picked up the pace."

This in turn elicited a string of curses from Mitsuo.

"Are you sure about this, chief?"

"He gave us the coordinates, and a promise that his master would make us stronger," Immore grunted. "And we all know that we need more strength. That black-haired fucker killed our comrades in mere seconds. I fucking hate to admit this, but we are too weak. But imagine us becoming as strong as that asshole. If we returned with that power, we could even best those damnable Herthaganautoz and kick that moronic thane from his throne."

This prospect drew some eager nods from his men. None of them had forgotten the defeat they had suffered at the hands of the thane's elite. It was only logical that the Herthaganautoz were stronger, being the elite of their nation, as only the strongest and bravest warriors were allowed amongst their ranks. Still, they had not imagined that their tribe would be so much weaker, and it had cost them dearly. Half of their men had died, Immore's eldest among them, and their village was raided and enslaved. Their people faced punishment for their defiance. And the Skelthús knew they only faced execution if they remained…

But with the strength they saw in Kenta, it would be possible for even a handful of them to overthrow those in power, to free their family, and to exact their revenge on the families of those that drove them out. None of the group ever dared to doubt Immore's persistence. Their leader was the former second in command of the Herthaganautoz after all. It was too bad he had annoyed his commander once too often- well, raping the commander's daughter would probably be considered as more than just an annoyance, but still…

"But this guy, the one the skinny faggot was talking about, wouldn't he have the same magic?" one of the men voiced his concerns.

"Kenta said that this guy would be weak. That he was exhausted or something. Don't ask me how he knows."

"How do we know he didn't just make this shit up to get rid of us?"

"If he wanted to get rid of us he would've killed us." Immore hated to admit it, but they had been at this man's mercy. They were completely powerless compared to the jonin, and if he had wanted to, he would've gotten rid of them. After all, who would want to leave witnesses? "We have little to lose, but far more to gain. So unless you maggots lost your guts, I say we wait till this moron comes close, slit his throat, cut his body apart, and then go the area where that asshole said we should wait."

With her sore body resting in Mitsuo's strong, though exhausted arms, Chie had to struggle a bit to stay awake; perhaps this was what caused her oversight. They were so fixated on chasing the man who had taken Suzume, that she never considered the possibility that he would have accomplices.

Now the two stood there, surrounded by at least two dozen men. If she had had the time, Chie would have asked what this particular kind of human was. It was black, and that color was painted on their skin, as far as she saw. It certainly didn't seem natural. It was a most curious habit, of which the cat would have loved to know more, but this was not the time for such curiosity. These two-legs carried a variety of weapons: axes of all shapes and sizes, and even the long, flat slabs of metal that Chie once read about, called swords. It eluded her as to why the black painted men would attack them, but again: they did not have the luxury to ask them for a reason. Mitsuo once told her that other humans attacked without reason, without any cause or aim.

These men stood between them and Suzume, and much to her panic Chie realized that the man they were chasing had again stepped up his speed. It would just be a matter of time before he would be out of her range, and this time they would have no possible way to continue tracking her…

With a short exertion, Mitsuo lashed out and tore open four throats with his kunai. Chie herself gathered all strength she could muster, preparing to fight even in her weakened condition.

Mitsuo, on the other hand tried another way out. He realized they were outnumbered, and in their exhaustion also outmatched, but these men were no shinobi. He hardly sensed any chakra, and the way the men reacted to his speed showed him that they weren't able to boost their speed either. Had Mitsuo not been so exhausted, he would have annihilated these bandits in moments, but now...

"Why don't you guys pull back while you still can," he tried. "You are obviously no match for a shinobi, so let's avoid any further unnecessary bloodshed."

To his disappointment, only laughter followed. At first it was hesitant, but after the tallest of the adversaries joined in, the others grew more confident.

"We already follow orders, puny man," the tall man bellowed.

With a grimace, Mitsuo looked up. 'Damn.. This guy must be at least seven foot tall. And with those muscles, he would be a serious adversary, even with my training and chakra control. Shit. Why do I keep having this bad luck?'

His bad luck would not end at that. Five men rushed forward at him, so taking a deep breath, Mitsuo again accelerated and lashed out. Three corpses fell to the ground, and two men cursed and screamed as they looked at their wounds. But when Immore looked closely, he saw the worn-out expression on the man's face, and the jerky movement of the man's chest as he gasped for air. Despite the loss of his men, Immore couldn't suppress his wolfish smirk.

"Keep him pressured," he ordered, his smirk widening when he noticed Mitsuo's glare. "Like that bastard told us, this idiot is exhausted; just keep attacking him and he'll fall."

'Damn… that giant isn't as dumb as he looks. And here I was hoping that scaring them off might work,' Mitsuo gritted his teeth, grimacing as his body ached from pure exhaustion. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired, not since the time those bloodline hunters had nearly caught him and his father. But that happened when Mitsuo was eight years old. Glancing over, he saw Chie's tensed body suddenly blur and inflate. Only for it to disappear in a flash of black and white, lunging at the throat of the nearest of their assailants.

Even Immore grimaced when he saw the suddenly abnormally large cat claw at the man's face and throat. The victim's screams made him shiver, and he knew that he wouldn't soon forget the sight of the eyeball that was halfway torn out of the man's skull, only for it to remain attached to a few muscles and nerves.

Chie, on the other hand, didn't give herself the time to think about what she did. All that mattered to her was to eliminate the threat, the obstacle to their rescuing the little pink-haired girl that she had learned to love, the first two-leg she ever laid eyes on. No one would keep her away from the child.

And these last days of horror had only added to the rage the feline felt and now unleashed upon this filthy-looking group of two-legs. There was rage due to Shiori's death, rage due to being so helpless, rage due to feeling her opponent getting away while they were stalled here. Adding to her fury was the knowledge that Mitsuo would not last much longer. She saw him dodge one strike after another, but he already had various gashes on his body, and his dwindling speed made her fear the worst.

She herself would not be able to fight that much longer either. Chie knew her chakra reserves were sinking fast, especially after her transformation into the four-foot long cat that now tore down another man. But each time she came close to her partner, another of the black-painted two-legs stepped in and forced her to back away. They had not managed to hit her yet, but she knew all too well that her own speed was dwindling too. Each new opponent she focused on took longer to eliminate.

Distracted by the large axe a man swung at her, Chie failed to note the leader had circled behind Mitsuo. But after Chie rushed past the muscular arm that held the axe, and tore a nasty wound in the man's neck, tearing the flesh out of him with her teeth, Chie froze at what she saw. Sitting on his knees, surrounded by several corpses, Mitsuo looked down at the point of the blade stuck out of his chest.

Immore laughed, bloodlust filling his mind, as he pulled his blade from his opponent's back. 'These people, even when completely exhausted, can cause us losses like this,' the tall man realized. 'Hah! Exacting my revenge will be all too easy once that bastard gives me what he promised! No one would ever get the chance to stop me ever again!'

So engrossed by having dealt the mortal blow, Immore never heard the cry that Chie had let out when she desperately rushed forward. Blinking, the giant man could only lift up his blade to force the monstrous feline back, but not before receiving four long cuts on his chest. These four long scars he would never talk about to anyone else. After all, what kind of warrior would not feel ashamed by being wounded by a mere cat, no matter how strange the cat was?

Stumbling back, eyes narrowed from the painful surprise, Immore saw the feline circling around his fallen foe. Though he could see the man had yet to die, his fate was inevitable. Immore knew enough about the human body to realize that even if he had missed the heart itself, the wound itself was far beyond healing. The final wound was compounded by the added blood loss from all the other wounds the man had gotten during the short battle.

"Enough," Immore signaled his remaining men. He grimaced a little when he saw he had lost another eleven of his tribe, with another six being wounded. "Our target is already dead, even if he is too stupid to realize it yet. Get back, and take our wounded away from that demonic cat-monster!"

Smirking to himself, Kenta looked down at the unconscious pink-haired child he carried underneath his arm. "No more daddy for you, you filthy blood-cursed freak," he said happily, not that she would hear or even understand him. The signal he felt vanishing at this distance only meant one thing.

"Hmm. Perhaps I should tell Orochimaru about the location. In hindsight I should've ordered those morons to bring the corpse with them," Kenta mumbled to himself, slightly annoyed by his own oversight. "Ah well, if that snake wants to examine the corpse I could always retrieve it. I hope those fuckheads don't mess up the corpse too much though."

Breathing was hard. So hard. 'And what is that, that water running down my body? It is so warm… cold… Why am I so cold,' Mitsuo exerted himself, drawing out all the power he had left to force himself to wake up.

"Stay still." Mitsuo heard his partner's voice. Where were they? Why does she sound so concerned? 'Ah... the ambush.'

"Chie…" Mitsuo muttered. "Are you… alright…"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Again her concern filled him with wonder. 'Why did she talk like that? Last time she had that strange tone in her voice was when she found me sitting next to Shiori's…'

Slowly opening his eyes, Mitsuo understood the reason of her despair. The warm liquid flowing down was not water. It did not rain. "Chie... my pocket... the scroll… take it."

"Two-leg, you shouldn't-"

"I… I'm… alright," Mitsuo smiled weakly. He didn't understand it, but what was that familiar feeling? "I know… death… the scroll… my diary… pictures… take it… give it… rescue… Suzume," he coughed, and somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that his left lung didn't function. He coughed up blood. But Mitsuo didn't care any longer. 'I've been running away for so long.. I wish I could've lived with Shiori and Suzume for just a bit longer. I wish I could've seen my little angel just one more time…'

Tears flowed down from his eyes, and Mitsuo felt the strange cold sensation spread through his body. Yet, he still had that strange feeling, as if someone was close. There was a smell… it was so familiar, it made him think of home, of the peaceful years, of the nights he would just lie next to the woman that had stolen his heart, of those loving eyes that stared down at him when they…

As he felt his body grow numb, Mitsuo's smile widened as he realized who it was that got so close to him.

He was home again.

Surrounded by the deep darkness of the forest at night, Chie sighed deeply.

How many years had gone by since the man she had formed a contract with had died? Ten? Twelve? Chie could barely remember. She looked down at the small pouch that she had put at the back of the burrow she moved into last winter. She knew that the scribbles and images of the two-leg were in there. She knew she had missed him, and his family.

But after all these years, she only felt empty and bitter.

She still remembered dragging away and hiding the corpse of the man she had formed a contract with, as clearly as if she had done it the day before. She still remembered when she realized the contract would not end with his death, but only when the child, Suzume, would be freed. And even to this day, she knew the child was alive, as the contract was still in place. But no matter where she had gone, she never sensed even the faintest trace of the mark she placed on the child. Until one day, she had grown tired of it.

Yes, the marking would last long, although they had been separated for years, but its signal would have diminished by now. Besides, after all these years, what could she still do for the child? Chie wouldn't know Suzume any more, nor would Suzume even remember Chie. At first, it had hurt her to acknowledge that she had failed to fulfil Mitsuo's final request, but over the years that pain gone turned into a dull ache, and then into the faint memory and frustration that it was right now. But who could blame her for giving up, apart from herself?

Chie could still remember the sunshine-filled day with the family of humans she once loved, the family that made her laugh, the warmth and happiness. The laughter of the child, hugging her, chasing her to catch her tail. Perhaps these humans were, apart from her teacher, the only beings she really ever cared about. Over the following years, she had seen so many humans, but each one seemed even more worthless, selfish, and disgusting than the other. In addition, the animals she encountered were all ignorant and savage, nothing like herself. Those sunshine-filled days were long behind her. The people she cared about were either dead or missing without a trace. All clues she ever had found led to nothing. Nowhere did she see the black-haired man that kidnapped Suzume. Nowhere did she see the painted men who had ambushed her and Mitsuo. Nothing. All hope she once held, had vanished like smoke in the wind.

Like she had feared all those years ago, the moment that the man had moved the child out of her range, Suzume had been lost forever. Chie sighed, exhausted in body and mind. Survival in the wild area she now lived in required her to transform into her full-grown, five-foot long form, and keeping that up eventually strained her. It was especially concerning now that there were some dumb two-legs hunting her.

Again.

She didn't bother to count the times shinobi had tried to find her. They had never been successful. The two-legs were too stupid to ever find her, and it was meaningless. They were too stupid to find even a single trace. Not that any of it mattered. She was an outcast to her clan, and on top of it she had broken her oath, after her summoner had died and left her stranded in this horrible place. Perhaps death wasn't such a bad option, Chie pondered. She had always wondered if there would be a life after death, and the only way to satisfy her curiosity would be to find something willing to kill her. It would not be difficult in this region.

In that state of mind, Chie buried the pouch containing the memories of her lost 'family'. She then said her goodbyes and moved out of the burrow and slowly stepped into the night. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, noticing that for the first in a long time she felt a bit excited. The massive and malicious chakra that was approaching would be her final opponent. She was tired of life. Whether that demonic presence would kill her or not, she hardly cared any more. Perhaps having one last fight would be amusing.

The only thing that really kept bugging her was that she wanted to know more about the thing that would end her life. How could anything feel so foul and massive? She had never even felt anything that came close to this presence. And then Chie saw a short, blond human boy walk forward, talking to what smelled like a toad. 'A boy? With a toad summon? Now that is interesting…' the black and white cat mused.

"Hush," she heard the human whisper. "Something is near. And it seems unusual to me, not a regular animal at least.. Can you figure out what kind of creature it is?"

'Smart, for a two-leg.. But this is the creature that radiates that foul chakra. This form must just be disguise to fool the other two-legs. Perhaps designed to catch its opponent off guard? Things are getting even more interesting now,' Chie smirked to herself. 'Well, time to show myself, I suppose.

She hopped down, drawing the creature's attention. 'And to either end my story or to begin a new one.'

A/N: And thus ends the Chie chronicles. Well, it actually continues in chapter six. And I know, its not the most cheerful one to date, but it was a necessary one. And at least we now all know how Naruto actually saved Chie. Andt maybe the sad atmosphere is just befitting my own mood considering all the shit I went through during this last month. Surgery sure is a bitch. But I'm getting better now. Finally.

Special thanks to Scarease for providing ideas for Immore. Though I changed and tweaked things, credit should go to those who deserve it, right? Speaking of credit: give a round of applause to Illuminated too, thanks to his beta work you guys get a better written chapter!

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2015!

-Z-